This Simple Trick Uses The New York Subway to Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius

Genius.

FIONA MACDONALD

12 AUG 2016

Science is always coming up with simple solutions to big problems, but one thing we've never quite managed to get our head around is how to easily convert degrees Fahrenheit into degrees Celsius.

But a clever tech engineer has pointed out that there's an incredibly simple trick to help you switch between the measurements fluently, just by taking a look at the New York City subway map.

That sounds strange, but bear with us for a second here - it turns out that if you just remember that –10 degrees Celsius is 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and them move up the stops along the number 6 uptown line, you'll have a more-or-less accurate reference point.

Confused? So were we. But if you check out the handy chart that Sidewalk Labs chief technology officer, Gabor Cselle, posted on Twitter, you'll get a better idea of what he's talking about.

To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, know that -10C is 14F, and then follow the NYC MTA 6 stops uptown. (Via Craig NM) pic.twitter.com/r9oFySDt2F

Obviously that system is going to be easier for native New Yorkers to remember than the rest of us. But even living in Sydney, remembering a few metro stops is a whole lot easier than the actual formula required to convert between the degrees.

Which, in case you're wondering, is °C x 9/5 + 32 = °F.

So you take degrees Celsius, times them by 9/5, and then add 32... and no one has ever finished that calculation, because, honestly, who's got the time?

Checking out subway stations is definitely more manageable. Although, full disclaimer for anyone trying this at home: you do need to skip the 28th Street stop for it to work.

Of course, you can also just convert the degrees on Google in about 2 seconds, but doing it yourself is just so much more satisfying, right?